Cicero Township is one of six

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Tipton County,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 8,017 (down from 8,086 at 2010) It is the largest of the six townships in the county, and it contained 3,616 housing units.

History

The

Miami people The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is no ...

were the first occupiers of Cicero Township. Upon early white settlement, the Miami resided on reservation land in what was then known as Hamilton County. On January 15, 1844, that reservation land became a part of Tipton County. The Miami were forced to leave the county, resulting in the

Potawatomi Trail of Death The Potawatomi Trail of Death was the forced Indian Removal, removal by militia in 1838 of about 859 members of the Potawatomi nation from Indiana to reservation lands in what is now eastern Kansas. The march began at Twin Lakes, Indiana (Myers ...

.Pershing, p. 82 The majority of white settles in Cicero Township were from Southern Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Squatters were abundant in the area prior to land being available to purchase, which began in 1838.Pershing, p. 84 Settlement was sporadic in Cicero Township due to land that was "flat and low and would be difficult to drain," according to white settlers.Pershing, p. 85

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , all land.

Natural landscape

Reports from the early 20th century state that despite being very flat and hard to drain, Cicero Township had lands with the finest agricultural potential "in the state." Historically, the area had plentiful

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

and

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

s, but most of the trees were cut for lumber in the late 19th century.

Deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the North American, northern or common raccoon (also spelled racoon) to distinguish it from Procyonina, other species of raccoon, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest ...

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

possum Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum ...

, and

muskrat The muskrat or common muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over various climates ...

s were plentiful during this time, too. Black bears were common near Cicero Creek.

Gray wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though grey ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

s, and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

s were hunted almost to extinction in the township's forests.

Cities and towns

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...

Unincorporated towns

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Former settlements

* West KinderhookPershing, p. 90 * ParrotsvillePershing, p. 91

Adjacent townships

* Liberty Township (north) * Wildcat Township (northeast) * Madison Township (east) * White River Township, Hamilton County (southeast) * Jackson Township, Hamilton County (south) * Jefferson Township (west) * Prairie Township (northwest)

Economy

19th century

The first

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * Factory * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Paper mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * Sugarcane mill * Textile mill * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic ...

in the township was built by Samuel King. The mill handled both

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and corn, using water from Cicero Creek for power. On a good day, King would process twelve bushels of corn.Pershing, p. 88 The second mill in the township was built by King and William Buffington. Also located on Cicero Creek, the mill was conveniently located at the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad Company stream crossing. The mill sawed timber and processed wheat and corn. Benjamin Bailey built a mill, which was horse powered, in 1850. Bailey allowed any farmer who wanted to grind their own corn to use the mill and horse. George Kane and Newton J. Jackson built a saw mill, which ran on

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

, in 1851. The land where they built the steam saw mill is known as Jackson Station. Cicero Township's economy grew after the completion of the railroad to

Peru, Indiana Peru is a city in, and the county seat of, Miami County, Indiana, Miami County, Indiana, United States. It is north of Indianapolis. The population was 11,073 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous community in Miami County. Peru is loc ...

, which connected Peru to the

Wabash and Erie Canal The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 460 miles long, it was th ...

, in 1854. Another steam mill was built, by Thompson Innis, in 1854 at Parker's Mill (also called Parker's Corner).Pershing, p. 89

Education

Early history

The first school was founded in West Kinderhook by Silas Blount in 1842. Early schools in the township were paid with private funds and teachers were paid based on student subscription.Pershing, p. 189
/ref> By 1914, public schools were operating in the township.Pershing, p. 190
/ref>

Today

Students who reside in Cicero Township attend schools that are a part of the Tipton Community School Corporation.

Government

Political districts

Indiana's 5th congressional district Indiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana comprising Hamilton County, Indiana, Hamilton, Madison County, Indiana, Madison, Delaware County, Indiana, Delaware, Grant County, Indiana, Grant, and ...

* State House District 32 * State House District 35 * State Senate District 20 * State Senate District 21

Infrastructure

Transportation

In 1844, Cicero Township was split into three transportation districts, each two miles wide. The initial roads were of poor quality and mainly

corduroy road A corduroy road or log road is a type of road or timber trackway made by placing logs, perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area. The result is an improvement over impassable mud or dirt roads, yet rough in the best ...

s. The roads suffered considerable damage during wet seasons and were prone to seeking given the damp and low geography of the township.Pershing, p. 87 By 1914, railroads served the township and roads were made of

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

and

macadam Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam , in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the original mat ...

Major highways

Indiana State Road 28 State Road 28 is an east–west road in central Indiana in the United States that crosses the entire state from east to west, covering a distance of about and passing about to the north of the state capital of Indianapolis. Route descript ...

Airports and landing strips

* Tragesser Airport

Cemeteries

The township contains these eight cemeteries: Bethsaida, Fairview, Goar, Goodykoontz, Mauldentown, Sandbank, Stewart and Sumner.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* Pershing, Marvin W. "History of Tipton County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions". Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen (1914).
United States Census Bureau 2008 TIGER/Line Shapefiles

United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)

IndianaMap

External links

Indiana Township Association

United Township Association of Indiana
{{authority control Townships in Tipton County, Indiana Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area Townships in Indiana